Pizarro: Cinequest unleashes maverick movies on Silicon Valley

With spotlights framing downtown San Jose's California Theatre, a touch of Hollywood returned to Silicon Valley as the 23rd annual Cinequest film festival opened Tuesday night with director Sally Potter's coming-of-age tale "Ginger & Rosa."

Thousands of movie lovers are expected to flock to downtown San Jose between now and March 10 to the festival that features 86 U.S., North American or world premieres.

It's fitting that this year's theme is "Unleash," as there will be plenty unleashed over the coming days. Upcoming events will include appearances by "Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk, writer Salman Rushdie and superstar Harrison Ford.

"What Cinequest is always about is people getting together and sharing a profound experience, whether it's through the films or the parties," festival co-founder and director Halfdan Hussey said. "For them, 'unleash' is them opening themselves up to that connection."